DC Charging in the Asheville area besides Sam's Club?

[GW Shark]

Hi! Been thinking of heading to the Asheville area for a short get-away (only 170 miles away). It appears the only fast charging is at the Sam's Club EA facility. Any thoughts on the reliability of this location or any others (DC or otherwise) to keep in mind? We'll be looking for a hotel with charging capabilities (will call to verify). Probably will do a 70-100 mile look checking out the leaves and waterfalls. Thanks for any suggestions (including local eateries we shouldn't miss!)

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[RickMachE]

PlugShare will show you reliability. Set it to show you no fee locations. New Belgium has chargers, and beer!

 

[TRP]

My wife used that Sam's location a few weeks ago on her way to Charlotte and home. Worked great for her. Check the reviews on Plug share for more recent info

 

[Thevanin]

That EA station at Sam's Club has a reliability score of 10 on PlugShare. I just did a 1700 mi trip using exclusively EA and didn't have any issues charging. It really did a lot to build my confidence in EA. IF that isn't working, it looks like there's a 25kW charger at the local Chevy dealer and a 50kW charger at the outlet mall nearby.

L2 charging is plentiful and is at multiple garages/hotels/businesses. I will say, I have had some issues with the screens on ChargePoint L2 chargers, but if you use the app they work fine.

As far as places to go, you can spend your entire trip eating and drinking downtown and not get tired of it. There's a gourmet potato chip place that's worth a stop (Gourmet Chip Company) as well as two pretty well reviewed chocolate places.

And then there's beer. So much beer. I haven't been there in a couple years, but if you stay downtown there's at least half a dozen you can walk to. I'm partial to Wicked Weed and Bhramari. You can't go wrong with any of them really. There's a driven beer tour that will take you to 3-4 breweries, take you behind the scenes, and give you samples at each one. It's like $50/person and is 100% worth it.

 

[GW Shark]

Great information from all - especially the apps - almost forgot about them. I think we can get by with a couple of visits to Sam's (going in and going home) but we decided to stay at a hotel close to Biltmore that has chargers (as overnight toppers). I too love downtown Asheville, so I'm sure we'll split our time between leave peeping and hitting the sidewalks.

 

[GW Shark]

Trip Follow-up - Had a great time. We hiked several waterfalls, stopped at overlooks on the Parkway and enjoyed the beginnings of fall color changes. Also a lot of good window shopping in Brevard. I'd say the first week of November will be peak around Asheville. Ms. Sally was a dream to glide through the mountains! She was made for hairpin curves and was so much fun to drive. Used L and Engage mode with 1 pedal in the mountains. Rarely had to use the brake and sometimes ended up using little or no charge to go miles! Normally I drive in Unbridled/1P.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn, Biltmore East - which has two L2 chargers. Free and first come, first serve. They are in a back corner and we used them both evenings. One charger space was blocked by an ICE car parking in it but the EV charging signage is minimal and lot was full.
I also used the L3 charger at Sam's Wholesale. Plug and Charge was flawless. Too bad they have no covered sitting area.

All in all, minimal range anxiety (first non-local trip), excellent driving experience and comfort - plenty of attention and questions on the road and especially at the overlooks! Thanks to all for your pre-trip information!

 

[Panzer948]

Great write-up. I live in Charlotte and just shared this with my wife and recommended a quick weekend getaway to Asheville!

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